Hector Eliut Hernandez
Introduction
Hector Eliut Hernandez, an assistant band director at La Grulla High School in Starr County, Texas, was booked into the Starr County jail on September 22, 2026 on a charge of improper relationship between an educator and a student, according to a criminal complaint obtained by KRGV. A student told investigators Hernandez had groped her on multiple occasions, including in the school’s band hall. Hernandez has since been released from jail and is no longer listed as an inmate or as an employee of the Rio Grande City Grulla Independent School District. All of the allegations come from the criminal complaint and affidavit as reported by KRGV; Hernandez has not publicly responded, and the charge has not been adjudicated.
Background Information
La Grulla is a small city in Starr County, in the Rio Grande Valley, and La Grulla High School is part of the Rio Grande City Grulla Independent School District. Hernandez worked as the school’s assistant band director. The investigation that led to his arrest began on September 8, 2026, when an assistant principal at the campus showed police screenshots of phone conversations identified as messages between Hernandez and the student, according to the complaint.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Charged, not convicted. Hernandez faces an improper-relationship charge based on the student’s account in the affidavit; the case is unadjudicated and he is presumed innocent.
According to the affidavit described by KRGV, the student told investigators she had been texting with Hernandez, and that he gave her a ride to practice during the past week and rubbed her leg. In separate car rides, she said, Hernandez had groped her breasts and other body parts. “The student felt uncomfortable with the situation but did not say anything to anyone,” the complaint stated.
The affidavit further alleges that on September 4, 2026, Hernandez touched the student’s leg and breast while they were alone in a classroom in the La Grulla High School band hall. The complaint also quotes a phone conversation in which Hernandez allegedly told the student that once she graduated, they could go on an actual date; the student told investigators she felt uncomfortable and blocked Hernandez. He was booked on September 22, 2026, roughly two weeks after the assistant principal first brought the screenshots to police.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The school district’s response is visible in the records: Hernandez is no longer listed as an employee of the Rio Grande City Grulla ISD, according to KRGV’s check after his release from the Starr County jail. Improper relationship between an educator and a student is a second-degree felony in Texas, punishable by up to twenty years in prison. No court dates in the case had been published in the fetched coverage, and no statement from the district or from Hernandez appears in the reporting.
Current Status
As of the latest reporting, Hernandez is out of the Starr County jail and out of the district’s employment roster. The improper-relationship charge remains pending; no indictment, plea, or trial date has been reported, and Hernandez has made no public comment. The account of the alleged conduct rests on the student’s statements to investigators as recorded in the complaint.
Impact on Their Career/Life
A band-director career in a small Valley district ends at booking: Hernandez’s name is already off the district’s employment listings, and an educator charged with an improper relationship with a student faces, at minimum, permanent ineligibility for Texas classroom employment through the State Board for Educator Certification process if the case is proven. For the school community, the case is another entry in the Rio Grande Valley’s recent run of educator-misconduct prosecutions, in which KRGV’s complaint-driven reporting has repeatedly been the public record.
Sources
- KRGV, “Records: La Grulla HS assistant band director accused of groping student,” October 9, 2026 — source